


A Cloud of Doubt

by Panda_Valentine



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 11:28:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12704112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panda_Valentine/pseuds/Panda_Valentine
Summary: Dainty wasn't good at being comforting, but she was very good at being distracting. Which ended up being exactly what Cid needed.A continuance of the PWP series started in Clouds Below, Stars Above. Fourth in the series and a direct sequel to Storm Clouds over Rhalgr's Reach.Minor spoilers for the Omega quest-line.





	A Cloud of Doubt

“It was good of you to sit with them, Miss Dainty. I think they sleep better when you’re here.”

The beige clad Miqote conjurer, an apprentice by her robes and the fact she had been assigned the unpleasant 11pm to 5am shift, received a smile from the smaller woman seated between the unconscious Roegaden and Lalafell.

The Warrior of Light had been there all night, for which M’Ptolmi was grateful as it allowed her more time to tend to the other patients of the infirmary, as well as catch a little sleep herself.

Dainty rose gracefully, the metal closure's of her heavy leather coat jingling slightly as she did and the wooden chair creaking as her weight was removed from it. Dainty bent, lifting a bouquet of flowers from the floor beside her chair.

“Blue roses?! In Gyr Abania?!” M’Ptolmi gasped in shock. Oldroses didn’t grow in the country naturally, making them an expensive import that was rarely seen. The ground was too harsh, too dusty for the water loving plants. Blue roses, which had to be specially cultivated to achieve the colour, were rarer still and an almost unheard of luxury to the formerly refugee peoples. “You must be very fond of them, Miss.”

Dainty smiled again, a darker smile this time, the corners of her full lips curling up as she walked close to the other woman and offered her the flowers;

“For taking such good care of them.”

“F… for me?!” M’Ptolmi gasped again, the fur on her tail puffing up in delight and surprise as she took the flowers.

“The blooms would look stunning in your hair.” Dainty recommended, reaching a small scaled hand up and smoothing a wayward lock of the Miqote's black bangs back into place for her.

M’Ptolmi blushed, despite herself. Her long, deep dungeon black hair and blue eyes were a source of pride for the Miqote and they were complimented frequently. She had thought herself quite immune to comments on them. Still, it was one thing to be told her hair was pretty by an amorous Ala Mihgan, it was quite another to have the Warrior of Light bring her rare and exotic flowers just because they would look nice in her hair.

“Thank you! Thank you so much, Miss Dainty!” M’Ptolmi bounced on her toes, despite being tired from her shift at the Infirmary as she accepted the flowers. “I’ll put them in my room at once!”

M’Ptolmi hugged the flowers to her chest as she walked quickly from the Infirmary, leaving the Au’Ra alone. 

“Fllliiiiirrrrrrttt.” Wedge accused groggily from the bed, startling Dainty who had thought him still unconscious. She turned to look at him with a smirk, folding her arms beneath her breasts.

“Real… nice…Dainty…” Biggs managed weakly, his teasing tone of voice still audible despite his lack of strength.

“I am here. What more do you want from me?” Dainty protested but was grinning at their teasing. 

Teasing meant they were recovering from their wounds, and she would rather be bantered with than to sit in uncomfortable silence. She was not the kindest soul on Eorzea, as evidenced by the fact she was too busy flirting with their Healer to notice her friends had momentarily woken up. But she was there, and had been all night. That was better than most got from the Au'Ra.

“How’s… the… Chief?” Biggs struggled. He had taken heavier damage from the monster that attacked them, doing his best to protect Wedge, as usual.

"How should I know?" Dainty shrugged, feigning ignorance and disinterest.

Wedge managed to shoot a glare at her. They all knew exactly why she would know. She had not been nearly as discreet as she should have been the first time she let herself into their Chief's bedroom.

“Don’t let him blame himself, Dainty.” The Lalafell requested before slumping back against the pillows, exhausted.

“Go back to sleep.” Dainty retorted sharply.

“Please… Dainty….”

“I was going to anyway. Rest. Or else I’ll summon the pretty Miqote to hit you with a sleeping spell.”

“Hehe.... you don’t even know her name do you?” Wedge slurred, unconsciousness rushing up to claim him once more.

Seeing Biggs had also succumbed, now reassured that she would do her best to comfort their Chief, Dainty turned sharply on her heel and walked from the Infirmary, her tail swaying behind her as she went.

The Au'Ra drew looks as she crossed the Reach. Partially because of her reputation and partially because of her outfit. Her dark red Chimera skin coat fit her in length, and across the back but left something to be desired in the curve department.

She'd managed to tether it at her waist with a length of string but it was splayed open at the bust and hips in a provocatively attractive manner. Similarly her pants were stylishly revealing, large swatches of the fabric cut away to flash pale skin and scales as she walked.

Rather than get herself a larger coat she'd simply accessorized that one with a red obi and a black bra and called it good.

Dainty's hair, restored to green after her ill-advised acquiescence in letting Cirinia dye it pink while in the Azim Steppe, floated around her shoulders as she strode purposely towards the other side of the reach where Garlond Ironworks was stationed.

A horn sounded, catching her attention.

Ixion, a mammoth fell beast that had been responsible for last nights quicklevin weather, had been sighted in the Loch's and a group of adventurers were gathering to slay the creature.

A vicious smile curled the edges of Dainty's full lips, one hand straying to the massive axe on her back.

It was only just 5:30am. The task given to her by Biggs and Wedge could wait several hours yet.

***

 

Darkness and the distraction of a small feast by the gatherers camps ensured that none noted Dainty's movements at the far edge of the Garlond Ironworks encampment. Those that usually frequented the area were either busy at the Infirmary or busy getting plates of slow roasted Dodo.

Ixion had been brought down and this was cause for celebration around the Reach. 

Wine was flowing freely, providing a distraction for the Au'Ra to let herself into the silent tent.

Dainty lifted her axe down from her back, setting it in the corner, the noise startling Cid Garlond who had been lost in thought, sitting on his bed.

"Dainty!" He was clearly surprised to see her, starting to his feet at the sight of her in his tent. Her hair, pink yesterday, was now mint green which Cid privately had to admit was his favorite shade on the Au'Ra. Her choice of attire was also new, a dark red coat that was flared open to flash touchable looking skin at her chest and thighs.

Dainty looked at him, head tipping to one side, confused by his reaction. Who else would have been bold enough to stroll straight into his private quarters?

His normally tidy quarters was littered with half-finished projects and various magitek devices in various stages of having been broken down to their base components.

He had clearly been trying to distract himself from dwelling on Omega, and what that monster had done to Biggs and Wedge, with little success if the pinched expression on his normally handsome features was any indication.

Dainty propped a hand on her hip and smiling suggestively, biting her bottom lip and throwing her shoulders back. Her breasts pressed against the black fabric of her bra, intentionally drawing his eyes to her cleavage.

"I'm not good at being comforting but I'm very good at being very distracting. Far better than Magitek. You did suggest I come check on you "tomorrow night"." She added with a small, mischievous smile.

It was impossible to mistake what she was offering and Cid had to admit, he was damn tempted but ultimately shook his head.

"Some either time, Dainty. I doubt even you could get me out of my own damned head right now." Cid sighed, and more or less collapsed into a chair. She folded her arms beneath her breasts, plumping the flesh out and rolling her eyes slightly. He was worse than Alphinaud after the Bloody Banquet.

Privately Dainty disagreed with his assessment. She was quite confident she could make him forget everything other than his own damn name if she put her mind to it, but she did not push, respecting the refusal of her offer.

Dainty wanted to help, she really did. Cid Garlond had always been there for her, whether she needed a method to slay a Primal or to remember how to experience emotions again. No matter what she asked him for, he gave it to her willingly. She thought it was hardly be fair if the reverse was not also true.

She was woefully unequipped to be helpful in a situation like this, however. The notion of feeling so much that one blamed themselves for something that was not their fault was a completely foreign concept to her. The cold-hearted Raen often struggled to feel enough to the point that it generally took extreme circumstances, such as someone dying, or sex for her to feel much of anything at all.

It was why she loved to fight so much. Wielding her axe in battle was one of the precious few times she experienced the rushing emotions that everyone else seemed to take for granted.

Dainty recalled suddenly how she and Haurchefant had had to bully Alphinaud into eating after they arrived at Camp Dragonhead and quickly realized there was no indication that Cid had remembered to eat while he had been mentally beating himself up over Omega. There was neither food, nor discarded cups & dishes littered among the incomplete Magitek projects.

"Don't go anywhere. I will return shortly."

"I will be right here, Dainty." Cid assured her with a sigh as the Au'Ra turned neatly on her heel and departed. Going outside and facing the others, knowing what he had unleashed upon Eorzea, was not a task he was rushing to complete. He ran his hands through his hair before putting his face in his hands and remaining there until Dainty returned.

The scent of slow cooked meat, having been roasted for hours on a spit, instantly made his stomach grow.

"I knew it." Dainty smirked, narrowing her eyes at him and setting down a plate of roast bird, a basket of oranges and a large bottle of wine. "You will eat something, Cid Garlond. Or I will make you. I am not watching you sulk yourself ill over a mechanical bloody space parasite."

Cid looked up at her. The annoyed pout she wore and her tone of voice promised violence if she was disobeyed. In spite his dark mood a smile came to his features slowly.

"You really are awful at being comforting." He stated with a rueful half-laugh.

It was sweet of her to try though, in her own inept way. Taking care of problems that couldn't be hit with her axe came about as naturally to her as sitting at Biggs' and Wedges' bed sides did. Such things were much more the domain of Y'Shtola, or Krile.

Dainty took that as confirmation that he would do as he was told and settled herself onto the seat opposite him on 1 hip and tucking her legs and tail underneath her. The food smelt delicious and he helped himself to a couple slices of meat as Dainty poured two glasses of wine.

She wasn't the best conversationalist but recounted an amusing story of Lady Ysayle Iceheart and her strong attraction to the fuzzy Moogles they had met in Moghome. It usually felicitated a smile when she told it, and this was no exception.

Cid ate dutifully, although the maudlin thoughts and self-recriminations that were never far from his mind had stolen his appetite. The food was very tasty and although he wasn't afraid of Dainty per say he wasn't precisely eager to find out how she would make him eat if he didn't do so himself. 

Her axe, propped up in the corner of the tent, was larger than his torso, and she wielded it as if it were no more than a Lalafellian hand fan.

Dainty peeled an orange delicately, popping a slice of the sweet fruit in her mouth, then licking the juice that dribbled down her small scaled hand. She drew her bottom lip a moment in for a brief moment, eyes closed to savor the taste before pouting, and reaching for another slice.

She didn't bother to check if Cid was watching her as she gracefully ate, sucking on a fingertip in a faux innocent manner. She knew he was. She knew exactly how distractingly suggestive she was being.

She reached for her wine, angling her body and breathing in in just a manner that breasts threatened to fall out the top of her exposed bra.

Her "unintentionally" flirtatious antics were working too. Her fingertips drifted absentminded across her collarbones as she sipped her wine, a faraway expression on her pretty features, as if she had no idea that he had had to shift in his chair, breeches suddenly seeming too tight.

_Surely she wouldn't be here - Cid reasoned - Surely, she would wouldn't be trying so hard to cheer me up if she blamed me._

Hearing censure fall from her lips was the last thing he wanted but he had to ask. As Eorzea's Protector she was the one most critically affected by his mistake in activating Omega. The task of cleaning up his mistake fell on her slender shoulders. It was her axe, her strength, her life that would be tested by Omega.

It was entirely possible he had signed her death certificate with Omega's awakening.

"Dainty. Be honest. You know this is my fault."

"I am not particularly fond of being told what I know." Dainty retorted sharply, her eyes flashing to his in an instant. She softened after a moment, her eyes very large in her pointed features. The orange limbal rings and dark purple depths seemed endless. "Cid, my honest opinion probably isn't going to make you feel any better."

There was a reason that she often said nothing and merely shrugged when she was questioned on her thoughts of a matter. She never had quite learned the finer points of tact, or how to pull her punches with her words. Her cold logic was very good for liberating nations. Not so good for being comforting to someone in distress.

"I want to hear it."

"Your choice." She shrugged, with a pout eating another slice of orange before announcing plainly; "Honestly, you are behaving like an over dramatic teenager."

She took a sip of her wine, eyes narrowing and skewering through him again. "Any half-wit can figure out that Omega was never "in stasis" by anyone's command. Nor did it "wake up" by anyone's command. Omega was in stasis because it wanted to be, preserving its strength until a worthy challenger showed up. And as for it being "a threat to all life on this star" ?"

Dainty gave a derisive, mocking laugh "... what isn't a threat to all life on this bloody star?"

She drained her cup and cursed in Lominsan as she refilled her wine. "Between the Primals, and the Empire and the Ascians it's a miracle there is anything left for Omega to threaten! Seven Hells, if someone annoys me enough I might become a threat to all life on this thrice cursed star. I do worship the Destroyer!"

Cid couldn't help but laugh at the mental image of an enraged Dainty carving a bloody swath through all of Eorzea.  
It was too ridiculous to seriously contemplate.

She laughed with him softly and it was a much nicer sound this time. "Besides, if you are looking for someone to be upset about this, you are asking the wrong Au'Ra, Cid. Rhalgr knows I am never going to complain about getting to repeatedly hit Omega in its stupid face until you can figure out how to jettison it off the planet. Or turn it into a harmless power source, or whatever brilliant thing you end up doing."

Cid wasn't sure she was right but he was deeply mollified by her words and slightly insulted. Her faith that he would fix this, some way or somehow, was absolute but he felt the "half-wit" line was a bit harsh, and he didn't appreciate her comparisons to a teenager either. 

He was older than her by more than a few summers.

"I am not acting like an over dramatic teenager." Cid muttered, reaching for his untouched wine glass.

Dainty stared at him over the rim of her own, an almost deadpan expression except for one arched eyebrow on her face as she waited for him to remember she had traveled the length and width of Dravania with Alphinaud and Estinien. If anyone was qualified to speak on teenagers, or people being over-dramatic, it was her.

She reached for the other half of her orange, peeling it and licking some errant juice from the back of her hand delicately and Cid shifted in his seat again.

Dainty broke the the fruit apart into slices with gentle fingers, popping the first in her mouth, before offering the next to the Garlean sitting opposite her. Cid took the slice but also her wrist, tugging her gently from her chair and towards him. She slid into his lap gracefully, allowing him to wrap his arms around her slender body, holding her tightly against him. 

Dainty smiled affectionately, relaxing into his embrace and rubbing her cheek against Cid’s muscular shoulders as best as her cranial projections would allow.

Even she liked snuggles and to just be held sometimes.

Not that she would ever admit that out loud. She had a careful cultivated reputation as an utterly ruthless Warrior to protect.

Cid's grip slackened and she drew back slightly. The urge to kiss him simmered just below the surface but Dainty refrained. He had refused her offer once already and she was disinclined to push that boundary without exact permission.

That didn't stop him from kissing her. One large hand finding her small, pointed chin and tipping her head back so that his mouth could cover hers. 

She melted into the kiss. 

When Cid’s hands started to roam, so did Dainty’s.

They quickly ascertained her leather jacket, while stylish, was quite inconvenient for getting his hands on her skin. Cid quickly found the closure at her waist, undoing it and tugging the garment from her sweetly curved body. It went the way of the floor with a metallic jingle as Dainty caught his mouth in a gentle kiss, reaching for the closures of his tunic. 

It went the way of her jacket under Dainty's deft hands, which turned instantly to admiring the skin and muscle exposed by his tunic's removal. They found the cool metal of the chain he wore, tracing the line of it up and kissing his neck as she removed it.

Soft fingertips stroked back down his muscular chest from his collar bones to his navel as she smiled a hungry smile against his throat. Dainty bit Cid's neck, just a little to hear him exhale sharply in pleasure as her hand crept the the waist band of his pants, but strayed no lower. 

There was laughter in her eyes as she drew back to glance up at him;

“If you’ve changed your mind, I do believe I owe you one.” She purred.

This statement was punctuated by her licking her top lip before biting the bottom one suggestively.

“I cannot possibly express how much I have changed my mind.” Cid retorted with a chuckle and Dainty’s affectionate smile turned into one of those smiles. Had he been anyone else Cid imagined that smile would have utterly terrified him. Certainly it had been the last thing several beings on the planet had seen before they ceased to inhabit the planet.

Instead it provoked a curl of warmth in his stomach.  
He knew what followed it.

Dainty shifted back so that her hand could continue its downwards trajectory. He was already half hard and the thick flesh swelled further at her touch, massaging him through the front of his breeches. Cid was about to find out just how distracting she could be.

She slid gracefully from his lap to the floor.

It occurred to Cid that there was no real way to lock the “doors” of the tent and that neither of them had bothered to try. The chance of someone walking in was miniscule. 

Only Dainty would be bold enough to admit herself.

Then Dainty’s fingers loosened the bindings of his pants, his cock falling into her waiting hands and Cid’s mind emptied itself of thought. 

Cid's hands gripped the table,white-knuckled, as he felt her tongue trace a circle around the tip of his penis.  
Her tongue laving and continuing to stroke his shaft as her mouth descended, enveloping his head and sucking gently.

She was going to be the death of him. Not the Empire. Not Garlemald. Not even Omega. It was going to be Dainty and her mouth that did him in. A small scaled hand gripped the length of his cock that wouldn't fit in her mouth and he groaned thickly.

She moved her head up and down, making sure to keep her tongue sliding back and forth across the sensitive underside of the head of his cock.

Her tongue swirled around his shaft and her hand kept pumping.

Cid's breathing was quick and shallow. The tent practically swam before him. The deft skill of her hand, and the warm pleasure of her mouth, were sending shock waves through his body. 

Risking a glance down, he saw her head bouncing on his cock. Watching the hard shaft of blood engorged flesh disappearing in and out of her mouth was fascinating and erotic all at once. He couldn't look away.

He could already feel the pressure building in the pit of his stomach.

“Dainty...I’m gonna come…” he said, his voice faint.

She dragged her tongue from the base of his shaft to the tip.

“If you insist." Dainty smirked. He never should have doubted her ability to "get him out of his own head" and she would make sure he knew it, as soon as her mouth wasn't otherwise engaged.

Cid did his best to focus on her face but he knew he was fighting a losing battle.  
Dainty took him in her mouth again, her hand still firmly gripping his dick and stroking the hard flesh.

“Seven Hells.” he murmured.

She knew he wouldn’t last much longer. His throbbing member was warm, slick with her saliva. She slid her mouth and hand up and down his shaft.

Cid's heart pounded. There was a tight knot in the base of his stomach. He was almost there.

Dainty continued, ramping up her pace. She began to twist her wrist as she jerked him, swirling through the wetness her mouth left behind. His sensitive tip moved across her tongue as she sucked.

“Dainty…” he breathed, giving up on keeping his eyes open.

Dainty dove down on his dick, his swollen member pulsating on her tongue,twitching and trembling.  
He groaned something nonsensical,stomach tightening as oblivion claimed him, cock throbbing with each spurt of cum.

Cid's head fell forwards and he exhaled hard, finished. Dainty swallowed eagerly, gently massaging his shaft with her tongue before finally breaking away. Leaving him dazed and breathless.

To call her expression smug would have been a gross understatement as she rested her elbows on his knees and looked up him, enjoying the blissed out expression on Cid's face as he slowly came back down to earth.

"Manage to remember your own name yet?" She teased, tucking him back into his breeches with an affectionate pat before rising to her feet.

"Barely." Cid admitted.

Her wineglass was across the table and out of reach but his was close by so she refilled it and helped herself downing the glass in one go. Unsurprisingly she someone as strong as she was Dainty could out drink just about anyone. 

She considered the late hour, and the fact that anyone walking by the tent would hear her voice if things got heated and decided it was not worth the risk. Besides, she had accomplished what she had came there for, which was to distract Cid from his idiotic thoughts of blame and doubt.

"Maybe in the morning you'll recall it. Sleep tight." Dainty smirked leaning to kiss his head above the blue and black aviators goggles that he wore as a rule before turning on her heel to collect her jacket and leave.

"Where do you think you are going?" Cid asked, suddenly galvanized into action, snagging her by the belt loops of her pants and arresting her movement. For a split second he worried he had been too bold. Her purple and orange eyes burned with power before she relaxed, arched an eyebrow at him, a dark smile on her mouth. 

She could go anywhere she wanted but it was sometimes fun to pretend she couldn't.

Cid couldn't help but wonder for a fleeting second if he was the only being on the planet that got to see that smile, and live.

"Don't promise what you can't deliver, Cid." 

"Have I ever yet?"

"We are several ilms short on privacy." 

It was Cid's turn to smirk, blue eyes smug.

He released his grip on her belt loops, reaching across the table for a small, round Magitek device that had been discarded among the detritus of other projects and handed it to Dainty.

She accepted the device, activating it and looking at the glittering, white gold sphere that expanded to fill the tent and leaving them looking like they were being attended to by thousands of Gridanian fireflies. All background noise from the Reach disappeared in an instant, the constant low din of swords and spells and life outside the tent rendered obsolete.

Dainty had seen similar effects before, most notably in her fight against the Anata primal Lakshmi, although the Vril spheres in that instance had been magic, not magitek, in origin.

“You built this in a day?” Dainty marveled, touching one of the glowing motes of light that made up the sphere with a fingertip.

“More like an hour.” Cid admitted and she looked over one shoulder at him, an admiring glint in her purple and orange eyes.

Given their history she could make some assumptions as to one reason Cid might have thought to create such a device, and Dainty gave the Garlean man a slow, mischievous smile.

“I didn’t dislike being gagged.”

“I noticed.” Cid returned the smile, then narrowed his eyes at her playfully. “Come to think of it, you like it when I pick you up. You like it when I man-handle you. You like it when I gag you…. What else do you like?”

“The list of what I don’t like would be shorter.”

“And that is?”

“I’ll let you know when I find something to put on it.”

His hands caught her around the waist, pulling her back towards him and prompting a genuine giggle from Dainty. He had been missing her laughter, he didn't even realize until he heard it again.

She wasn't normally this talkative, or flirtatious but he liked it, assuming the wine had loosened her tongue.

She had barely stepped out of her boots before his large hands were reaching for the waistband of her pants. Dainty reached behind her, grabbing her tail securely so that Cid could peel her out of the tight leather trousers effortlessly. It was easy for the fabric to get caught on the spiked tip of the scaled appendage if she didn’t.

The odd quirks of her unique physiology made him chuckle, thumbs tracing the top of the scale clusters at her hips that peeked out below the red obi that encircled her waist.

The war leathers pooled around Dainty’s feet and, Cid’s hands bracketing her fabric covered hips, she stepped out of them neatly, kicking them under the table with one foot. The red obi was deftly untied and slid from her skin to join her jacket and pants on the floor, leaving her clad in only a black bra and panties.

Dainty’s scales shimmered in the low Magitek-born light and Cid sincerely hoped there never came a day that seeing them didn’t half take his breath away. She returned, unresisting, to his lap at the insistence of his hands.

The scales at her throat always fascinated him the most. Their texture was smooth as his lips glided over them, leaving Dainty to squirm with ticklish desire. It absolutely nothing like dragon skin as many assumed, nor was the sensitivity of the skin at her neck compromised for the filigree pattern of delicate scales. 

Dainty was prone to rushing, and often with good reason but playing her body like a fine musical instrument was a luxury that Cid rather enjoyed indulging in. It was the reason he had built the sound nullifier.

While she may not have been complaining about being gagged he reveled in the noises she made, and the way she moaned his name.

She was unusually ticklish on her spine, from the small of her back to her tail, Cid knew from having had his hands on her on the past but he was a little curious as to where else she was ticklish. 

Dainty closed her eyes as his lips and hands played across her skin. 

She was only barely ticklish on her stomach, and not in the slightest on her feet, but her ankles, ribs, hips and collarbones were.

Cid saw the pattern at once.

Where her scales ended, and smooth flesh began, the skin there had extra nerve endings, leading to increased sensitivity. 

A kiss at her collarbones, a touch at her biceps, fingertips lingering on the texture of her scales that curled around her arms and ended in a jagged looking but smooth feeling knife point just below the round of her shoulders.

The ticklish areas were also erogenous zones and she was fully breathless in Cid's lap by the time he was done.

“Are…. Are you counting them again?” Dainty managed breathlessly through a haze of arousal and lust.

“Maybe.” Cid retorted voice dark. “I never did get all of them.” This was accompanied by one hand gripping her backside and giving a firm squeeze. While it was true he had counted her scale clusters before never the individual scales, and never the ones on her back of her body.

His hands found her breasts, removing the black bra at long last and kissing the sensitive underside of her breasts, moving tortuously slowly towards her nipples. Fingertips were dragged up her thighs, and stroked over the scales there.

“Cid…” she squirmed in his arms as his fingers traced down the curve of her ass, coming desperately close to where she wanted to be touched before diverting away to stroke the scales at her thighs.

His mouth finally claimed one pert, pink nipple. Excitement throbbed through Dainty. Heat radiated from her core and every inch of her skin tingled, her need mounting.

She was wet as hell and she knew it, her breathing shallow and her pale skin flushed with desire. 

Cid lifted her onto the table.

Later, neither of them would be able to correctly say why they hadn’t thought to move to the perfectly good bed not 6 feet away from them although Cid would claim it had something to with the blood rushing out of his head to other places.

She tipped her hips forwards, leaning back on her arms and lifting her lower body so that he could remove her black panties, the crotch damp with her desire. His hands explored up her legs, pausing to stroke his thumbs over the scales on her calves, and knees before sliding under her thighs. Dainty bit her lip, breath choppy with anticipation.

Cid pulled her towards him as he leaned forwards.

Dainty felt Cid’s tongue slip across her aching cunt. It was hot and wet and sent a dire shiver through her. The feel of his mouth exploring her lanced hot cold lightning up her spine. That liquid tongue touching all the places his fingers hadn’t earlier. 

"Gods!" she twitched violently when his tongue slid without warning to her clit and lingering there.  
She rock her hips against his mouth as his tongue traced up and down.

He could play her for hours simply to enjoy the beauty of her body responding to his touch. She moaned his name, legs spread and toes curled. "Ci—id!"

He had gone to all the effort of building the magitek sound nullifier, it'd be an insult not to use it to its fullest.

Her short breaths quickly started coming with delicious little pauses between them, longer and longer. Dainty's eyes screwed shut tightly as she hovered just at the edge. 

"Oh...! oh! .."

He broke away suddenly, leaving Dainty on the very trembling edge of an orgasm, before crashing back down on the “safe” side of the cliff, unfulfilled and frustrated.

She gasped, livid, her head snapping forwards and fully glared at smirking the white haired Garlean man.

“That’s for the half-wit comment.” Cid informed her.

“Oh! You.....!"” Her indignant noise made him chuckle but he rose before she could finish her thought and tossed Dainty over one shoulder easily. Again, for a fraction of a second he thought he had gone too far.

Then she wriggled, stretching so that she could grab his backside with both hands, and laughed deviously.

"Stop that." Cid chided, entirely joking. 

"No!" Dainty retorted gleefully.

Two quick steps was all it took to cross the length of the tent and drop her onto his bed. 

Dainty's hands caught Cid's bare shoulders, dragging him down with her, eager to feel the weight of his larger body against hers. Even if she played at being submissive she was far from it.

She pulled him in for a ravenous kiss, pushing his breeches off his hips with her feet and writhing her body against his. His hands dusted her sides and she clawed down his back in response. 

She didn’t want more foreplay. She wanted him to fuck her.

Cid broke the kiss, drawing back to kick off his pants and encouraging her to flip over onto her stomach before she could bloody his back. 

Dainty divined his intentions instantly, flicking her tail out of the way and snagging the bed's sole pillow. She positioned it beneath her hips so that her pert ass perked up into the air perfectly. 

“Seven Hells.” Cid growled, low in the back of his throat at the sight of her, stretched out, naked, wet and willing before him.

Cid moved between her parted thighs, positioning himself at her entrance and sinking his cock into her waiting body. Dainty was so wet she was practically dripping as Cid sank into her deep with only a pleasurable amount of resistance, his hips pressing into the curve of her ass.

Hot cold fire lanced down her limbs, curling her toes and turning her hands into claws. 

Like the sensation of finally scratching an itch that had been bothering her for hours only magnified by a thousand. She groaned thickly, pressing her face into the bedding.

His hand slid over her skin, across her hip and around to the top of her slit, finding the blood engorged, swollen bundle of nerves of her clit. 

A couple strokes of his fingertips was all it took, he didn’t even have to thrust, before Dainty gasped raggedly, body tensing like an overdrawn bow as she came hard around Cid’s shaft.

He stayed deep inside her, throbbing. Pinning her down even though he didn't need to. His fingers pressed into her upper arms and his mouth by her ear.

“If I was the type to kiss and tell, I’d brag about that one.” Cid chuckled, kissing down her spine, beard tickling her skin and her inner muscles clenched and released on him. If there was a record for Eorzea’s fastest orgasm Cid was pretty sure Dainty just won it.

His hands swept up, over the pattern of scales at her biceps, flittered teasingly across her shoulders and stroked down her spine. Dainty sighed sweetly and bit her lip, glancing back at him with a smile.

Cid’s hands splayed over Dainty’s scale covered hips.

He lifted her onto her knees, changing the angle of his cock inside and pulling himself into her to the absolute hilt. Dainty gripped the bedsheets violently; “I can feel you. Gods…. Cid. every inch of you.” 

Cid couldn't help but smirk, just a little as his moved his hips, establishing a rhythm that stole her breath. She really did make the best noises.

His hands stroked up her skin, a light, feathery touch all the way up her spine. Dainty gasped, pushing her hips back as their bodies moved together, his larger body arching over hers and earning herself a deep, almost guttural groan from the man fucking her.

"Seven Hells, Dainty." Cid groaned thickly. 

She was right, she was more distracting than Magitek, and so much more satisfying to turn on. 

His hands continued their exploration of her skin as his cock pushed her open, stretching out her walls as she sheathed him over and over.

His hands found her throat, teasing fingertips down the cluster of scales there hungrily inhaling her sweet scent as he fucked her.

Dainty rocked herself against him harder with every thrust, taking him in. Each long deep strokes hit a sensitive place deep within her.

“oh! oh! oh!” Her voice came out in short, staccato gasps. Her whole body shuddering with each thrust. 

He could feel his peak starting to build deep in his gut, thighs tensing. He tried to fight it down, focusing on how her skin felt against his, the sensation of scales and skin beneath his palms as he touched her and the warmth their bodies created 

She gasped, feeling like she couldn't breathe at the intensity of sensation at her core.

Her hands turned into claws, ripping 3 long gashes into the bedsheets. His thrusts started to get more rapid and suddenly Dainty had to brace herself against the bedding, arms locked in place and arching her back desperately as Cid fucked her.  
Her hips rocked back violently as she tensed like an over coiled spring. 

"GODS!" her voice escaped her as a shout without her meaning to. At that angle he was almost too much for her his cock hitting every nerve ending inside her. "Cid! Just like that..... oooo oh oh.... !"

Her voice failed her as she shuddered violently.

Cid kissed her skin, completely in love with the way she cried out, holding onto her hips and repeating the movement of his hips until Dainty hoarsely screamed and came hard, her cunt clenching around his thick length like a vise

He answered with his own growl, unable to hold it back another ilm.

All the tension, guilt and recriminations poured out of him as his cock painted her grasping walls with his cum. His mind empty of everything but Dainty.

She was trembling when he came back down to earth, although the smile she gave him as she gently lowered herself to the bed told him very clearly it was not in fear. 

"F*** ** **." She muttered something vulgar in Lominsan, tone a little wondrous and stretching gloriously. That last one had taken her by surprise with its intensity.

Cid laughed, something about her foul mouthed use of cuss words at that romantic, tender moment struck him as hilarious as it was such an incredibly Dainty thing to do. She grinned at him, eyes narrowing prettily with the affectionate expression.

She rolled onto her side, letting him flop down onto the bed with all the grace of a felled tree before snuggling into his side sweetly, and throwing an arm across his chest. Cid leaned in for a kiss, which Dainty happily obliged.

The small, scaled hand at his chest roamed lazily as they kissed, stroking his chest and exploring all the planes, and shapes of his muscles before she sighed, sleepily, tucking her head under his chin and snuggling as close as absolutely possible.

Cid chuckled at the half asleep, half amorous Au'Ra. 

"You are amazing. My legs feel like mashed popotos." Dainty sighed contentedly, then raised her head to give him a cheeky smirk; "Did you remember your own name yet?"

"….barely."

 

* * * 

 

Her own name being called from the beside table woke her, leaving her blinking in the dark trying to figure out who, and why. She fumbled for the linkpearl she had discarded earlier, raising herself up on an elbow and dislodging Cid's arm from around her ribs. 

He snuffled in his sleep, but otherwise did not stir.

It took Dainty a moment to figure out which of the 2 linkpearls was her own. 

Answering Alphinaud's summons on Cid's linkpearl would have lead to some questions that would be difficult to answer with anything but the truth.

"Yes, Al-fin-node?" Dainty replied, purposefully butchering the pronunciation of his name to be mischievous, then giggled to herself at his annoyed silence.

"….are you near Rhalgr's Reach?" Alphinaud finally asked, slightly curious what she had just beaten up to put her in such playful mood. She was not known for it unless on a battle high. 

"I am." She declined to extrapolate from there knowing the Elezen teenager was well used to her nature and would take no offense.

"I am on my way there. Can you check in with Arenvald as soon as possible? He is anxious to talk to you."

"Certainly." Dainty glanced around the tent, and saw it was twilight. The sun was rising but not yet up. "What time is it?"

"Near on 5am. I figured you would be awake because you have the lunatic sleeping habits of a 12 year old Lalafell."

Dainty laughed, signing off. Alphinaud wasn't incorrect. For years the Scions had been dealing with her methodology of going, going, going until she passed out for a nap on the nearest available flat surface.

If no flat surfaces were available, passing out leaning up against Thancred or Hoary Boulder was also an option.

Cid was still asleep, so deeply so that Dainty was a malm jealous. She thought about poking him to say goodbye but decided against it. She doubted he had slept the previous night, and then was entirely energetic romping around the tent with her.

If anyone deserved a good sleep it was Cid Garlond. 

Dainty rose, retrieving her small clothes, pants, shoes and jacket from the floor where they had been thrown. In her hunt for a scrap of parchment to leave a goodbye note her purple and orange eyes lit on a large magitek miniature she had not seen earlier, when she had been up close and personal with the table. 

She had been far too distracted with Cid's head between her thighs.

Dainty smirked, grabbing the object and tucking it under one arm before strolling out into the dark, and quiet Reach.

 

* * * 

 

Cid wasn't upset that he woke alone. 

Disappointed, yes. But not upset. He had surfaced around what he guessed to be near 3am to find himself the little spoon, which he had noted was surprisingly comforting before drifting back to sleep in Dainty's arms.

The sheets still smelt like Dainty, and with the bed to himself Cid was blessed with the opportunity to wallow in them indulgently.

Eventually his outstanding customer projects for Garlond Ironworks sent his ever curious mind whirring too much to stay in bed and Cid rose. A pang of guilt that he had yet to visit Biggs and Wedge in the infirmary made itself known in his stomach too. 

He felt that was well warranted, and vowed to go there as soon as he had bathed and made himself respectable for the day. Cid went in search of wherever Dainty had thrown his chain, spying a slip of parchment on the table, lying innocuously beside some discarded orange peels. 

_Alphinaud and Arenvald were looking for me. Sorry.  
Took your airship. Not sorry._

Cid instantly looked for the miniature Enterprise he had been building as a personal project. The models were quite common in Eorzea. He usually had the apprentices build them to test their fine detail skills but this one was all his own work.

He had actually started building it in Ishgard, out of pieces cut from the original Enterprise when it was shrunk down to the Excelsior. He had only just finished it and was highly amused at Dainty having walked off with is as a souvenir

Clearly he was going to have to steal the ax she made from Garuda's pinion feathers next time he saw her.


End file.
